Step in the Ring

In response to Traditional Medicine vs. Alternative Medicine

by Adrienne Amos

Has anyone considered that what we refer to as “traditional medicine” began as what we now call “alternative medicine”?

In days gone by, herbal remedies were the order of the day. When I was young an upset stomach was treated with a hot cup of ginger tea or, if it was available, a bottle of Vernor’s Ginger Ale. Trust me, both taste better than most of the medicines on the shelves today—and they worked! Another example is congestion. In the past congestion was not treated with fancy liquid, but an old-fashioned mustard plaster. That worked too!

Photograph by Leanne McCauley. Some rights reserved.

Most medicines originated naturally from plants or animals in the days before scientists learned how to produce them synthetically. Penicillin, which was the “wonder drug” for many years, comes from good old mold. And who hasn’t heard the stories of doctors using leeches to bleed patients?

As new discoveries were made by great minds like Pasteur, Fleming, and Salk, the practice of medicine evolved into the traditional medicine we have now. Does traditional medicine always get it right? No–because despite all the advancement, it’s still administered by humans–and as we know, humans can and do make mistakes. By the same token, the same can be said for the practitioners of alternative medicine.

On a personal level, I watched my late husband deal with both. He took more medicine than ten people and still only found temporary relief, at best. It took traditional medicine four years to finally determine that he was a diabetic, at which point it had become so advanced they immediately put him on insulin shots. I also sat with him through endless cleansing treatments by an alternative doctor that did little more than give him a day of relief. In the end both failed him, as he died from a massive heart attack.

My opinion is we should eat in moderation, exercise in moderation, relax more, worry less, and live each day as if it was our last on earth. Do I go to traditional doctors? When I feel I really need to and home remedies fail me. But I also research alternative medicine theories and if something makes sense to me I’ll try it. If it works, great! If not, I haven’t really harmed my body—only my pocketbook.

For years Reader’s Digest has published a section called “Laughter is the Best Medicine”, and I think they are right. Live well, love deeply, and laugh often. You might just find you need the services of both traditional and alternative medicine less!

The Opinions | RSS 2.0 | Comment it , or trackback this post.